The Diamondbacks and third baseman Evan Longoria are in agreement on a one-year deal that will guaranteed him $4MM with another $1MM available in incentives. Longoria is a client of TWC Sports.
Longoria, 37, will be joining just the third organization of his long career, having only previously suited up for the Rays and Giants. He broke in with Tampa in 2008 and had his best seasons from there through 2013. In that six-year stretch, he hit 162 home runs and produced a batting line of .275/.357/.512. That production was 35% better than league average, as evidenced by his 135 wRC+, one of the 25 best such marks across the majors for that period. When combined with his quality defensive work, he tallied 34.2 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, the fourth-best mark among all position players with only Miguel Cabrera, Brian McCann and Yadier Molina ahead of him.
It was within that time that the Rays twice gave him a lengthy contract extension. The first came in his 2008 rookie season, a $17.5MM guarantee over six years, plus three club options. After the 2012 season, the second extension triggered the three club options and added another six years and $100MM. That deal ran through the 2022 season with a club option for 2023.
Longoria’s offensive production declined over the 2014-2016 period but was still above average. He hit .265/.322/.454 in that stretch for a wRC+ of 112, 12% better than par but a noticeable drop-off from his previous heights. He took an even bigger dip in 2017, hitting .261/.313/.424 for a wRC+ of 97. At the end of that season, Longoria had accrued nine years and 170 days of service time, just two days shy of the 10-year mark. That was a significant gap since getting to ten years would have given him 10-and-5 rights, as all players with 10 years of service time and who have been with their current team for at least five years earn the right to veto any trade. The ever budget-conscious Rays decided they had to move Longoria before he gained those rights and flipped him to the Giants going into 2018.
Since moving to California, it’s been a rocky time for Longoria. In his first three seasons as a Giant, he hit .250/.302/.425 for a wRC+ of 93. He bounced back to being an above-average hitter over the last two seasons but injuries limited his overall contributions. He slashed .253/.333/.466 over 2021 and 2022 for a wRC+ of 118, but in just 170 games. A left shoulder sprain and right hand contusion sent him to the injured list in 2021. Finger surgery put him on the shelf for the beginning of the 2022 season and he was later sidelined by a left oblique strain, a right hamstring strain and a thumb fracture.
The Giants had an $8MM decision to make on Longoria, choosing between a $13MM option or a $5MM buyout. Picking up that option and adding the $8MM onto their ledger would have been a defensible decision based on his resurgence at the plate, but there were also reasons for concern. Beyond the injuries, Longoria’s previously excellent defensive grades have slipped, a fairly expected development for a player moving into his late 30s. Also, his metrics like exit velocity and hard hit rate have been trending downward, not shocking for a player his age but something that had to be taken into consideration. In the end, the Giants decided to move on and went for the buyout, sending Longoria into free agency for the first time in his career.
Longoria expressed a preference for either returning to one of his two previous clubs or signing with the Diamondbacks, since he has a home in Arizona. In the end, he will indeed join the team near his home, with the club making for a fairly sensible fit for him. A young up-and-coming team, the D-Backs could surely benefit from having a veteran presence like Longoria in the clubhouse and in the dugout.
In terms of the fit on the roster, third base wasn’t completely secured prior to this deal. Josh Rojas has been serving in a utility capacity over the past few years, spending some time in the outfield corners as well as the three infield positions to the left of first base. In 2022, he spent most of his time at third, getting into 89 games there. While he was above-average offensively, the advanced defensive metrics all considered his glovework to be below average. It’s possible that he could still take a step forward in that department since he didn’t play much third base in the minors and is surely still learning the position, but bringing Longoria’s experience aboard should only help there.
There will also be platoon possibilities since Rojas hits from the left side and Longoria the right. Rojas has fairly even splits for his career but was better against righties in 2022, posting a 114 wRC+ with the advantage and a 92 otherwise. Longoria, meanwhile, has a 132 wRC+ against southpaws in his career with a 113 against righties. That would seem to make them a good pairing, though injuries elsewhere on the roster could potentially require Rojas to move elsewhere on the diamond. The club also doesn’t really have an obvious designated hitter at the moment, which could allow both players to be pencilled into the lineup together with regularity, unless Arizona’s many young outfielders eventually push start crowding into the DH mix. But if Longoria were to act as the DH with some frequency, it could give him an edge in overcoming his recent injury track record.
This deal brings the club’s payroll up to $109MM, according to the calculations of Roster Resource. That’s a big jump from last year’s $91MM figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but the club has been as high as $132MM in the past.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post. first reported the two sides were in agreement on a one-year deal. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the financial figures.
Image courtesy USA Today Sports.
Okay.
I don’t understand these “non-answer” blank posts. Is it an inside joke or is Alex Jones really behind the curtain because that would explain the ineptitude…
It’s the rush to be first.
Look at me, I’m first !
Maybe I’m just being a dick, but then again maybe I’m just being hard on myself..
Clearly I am too old to be entertained by 80% of this social media nonsense. Blank posts to be first? Wow, children. Constant ad hominem attacks on folks – more childish stuff.
Or conversely, perhaps I still have a few functioning neurons left that rebel against most of the garbage posting. C’mon folks…the few that feel the need to troll so often. This isn’t that hard – raise your game and the place will be better off for it. You might even have more fun and learn something here and there as there are some really good comments along the way, but sifting through the nonsense takes so much away.
Tim and the gang run a top notch website here, and the comments section deserves better than this. I have followed this site since the early days, and yet never bothered posting comments until recently due to stuff like this.
OK – old man yelling at clouds rant over.
I hope I can be first someday. It’s on my bucket list.
old man yelling at clouds rant over.
===========================
The Far Left types that were screaming at the sky to “celebrate” Trump’s first year in office, might’ve been the highlight of the election.
Past that, this might a function of having young people on the site. It might be time to add some “mutes”.
If you have to ask.
The tone of people responding to baseball news has definitely changed recently. It’s much more adversarial. It might be related to Twitter and how that site has a more aggressive tone? Like, click on any random tweet by Heyman, Rosenthal etc and ALL the replies are “late” and “who cares” and “you suck shut up”. I don’t think it used to be like this?
I’ve made it. No big deal. I would rather be right than first and sometimes in the rush to post, thoughts don’t match in hindsight what has been written.
Sports Twitter has always been the worst area of Twitter for me. I don’t do any sports related Twitter but Passan and my local beat writer, it’s all just negativity, stupid takes, misspelled crap, and the worst kind of casuals. I think Reddit is even a step above, and I don’t do Reddit either.
@rhandome…..pretty much since Thanksgiving…I’ve noticed a huge uptick in a-hole posts.
Have been on this site over ten years and now middling posts get 200-300 comments….? And of those, I get sarcasm will happen and some are from me….but have seen too many that begin w/ anger etc etc….
Thanks to those that responded. I don’t want to make this a whinefest and extend the conversation in a negative way so I will leave this alone now. A few followup points though as parting thoughts:
* It isn’t just the youngsters from what I have seen…not all. Most, probably, but not all for sure.
* Nothing at all wrong with large doses of humor and sarcasm at all…as long as it isn’t just stupid and mean-spirited. There are some funny folks on here.
* Presentation does really matter. Arguing different approaches to WAR is fine…presenting oneself as the only one that understand the gospel truth about these things and jumping on anyone that begs to differ is silly.
* The mute button is fine, I guess. Haven’t used it as I will just skip over most of the stupid stuff. and never feel a need to react to deliberate trolling. Unless cranky and in need of coffee.
* A part of the issue is that the sports media has corrupted itself with so many bloggers that they present as something more (looking at you, Fansided and your compatriots) that many get their information and style from 16 year old kids in mom’s house that pretend to be writers.
* Those that are really the problem are likely to not recognize themselves as such.
Carver, it’s okay. As the resident “old guy” just state facts, and call it your opinion, and move on. It’s okay, most of the regular posters on here are smart enough to understand that opinions are like noses, everyone has one, but some are more messed up than others. I try to give everyone a wide berth, and their opinion. Sometimes we agree, other times we don’t. It doesn’t make them “the enemy ” or wrong, it means they have a different opinion than I do. It’s okay. I’m old enough to understand that is how the world works.
I wish the media shared your beliefs. They are proven wrong and don’t retract.
It doesn’t help that 75
% of what we get from the media is biased and not real news. Sadly, people still believe what they are spoonfed.
I highly doubt that’s the case for —baseball– media, and that’s the only media that we should be focused on, for these boards anyways…lord knows there are plenty of opportunities elsewhere to voice your grievances about other kinds of media. This is supposed to be an oasis from that other daily onslaught; but baseball is part of society too, so sometimes we feel the waves in here as well lol.
@dpsmith22 – Much of your concern revolves around the fact that it is incumbent upon us to educate ourselves as to what is a legitimate media source, and the rest of the garbage out there.
The media has always been flawed…at times shockingly so…however there is a large body out there that still works hard to retain journalistic integrity at the core of things, even if imperfectly. If one chooses to define preferred “media outlets” as Facebook and folks such as Tucker Carlson and swim in the cesspool, it only exposes the level of ignorance of the user.
On the sports media side, it is related. One needs to find the legitimate voices and ignore the rest of the babble. It actually takes some effort to be a responsible consumer of the media, and most of us do not want to go to any such effort. There are plenty of terrific baseball writers out there…Jayson Stark; Tyler Kepner; Peter Gammons and so on.
*be a function
Wanted him in Cleveland
That’s the culture these days. Anytime something posted in Social Media that is positive, the comments are full of negatives. Nit picking and trolling just to make them feel better about themselves.
Example: A guy posts a video of how he’s proud to finally reach 90 on the mound and all the comments are about his bad form, try throwing some strikes, or how Tommy John has entered the chat. Not to mention the ongoing joke of 450 dead center which originally these idiots meant. Just toxic garbage. And half of it comes from adults.
A nice bat when healthy, good pickup.
Longo, in my opinion, has been under-appreciated for most of his career. If it wasn’t for some injuries, he could have been a potential Hall of Fame candidate; he was that good in his prime. If he can stay healthy this year, this is a great deal for Arizona. How much more does a Josh Turner bring to Boston than Evan Longoria could have? And for $10M less than Turner as well ($14M vs. $4M). Nice signing by Arizona even if they only get 90-100 games out of him.
You clearly haven’t watched a Giants game in a couple years. Longo had a steady year in 21- as did most Giants vets. Aside from that he played at about a 4 mil AAV level for his stay in the bay. As someone whos been forced to watch Justin Turner decimate the Giants for what feels like a decade, I can assure you Turner earned his deal just as much as Longi earned his.
He was not that good
As a Giant yes. As a Rays he was terrific
Dorothy Agree. Wondering who might still be in the market for a 3rd baseman? Yanks still need to unload Donaldson. Any thoughts?
The Mets
I do not think the Giants would be interested in Donaldson even though he played for the A’s years ago.
YBC. Interesting thought, but it looks like they will sign Correa.
Happy New Year YBC
Happy New Year Mick!
Wow. Hope the tigers can swing a deal for Josh Rojas to get their LH hitting infielder.
Third comment in is the Tigers fan complaining we didn’t sign the guy. Surprised it wasn’t the first.
I’m not complaining we didn’t sign this guy? Where’d you get that from?
I think Brian Anderson would be a better fit for the Tigers as he could move to the OF when Kreidler is ready
Kreidler will never be ready.
I read they’re planning to use Rojas at SS this season to replace Perdomo.
Didn’t know that. Perdomo back to the minors then? Ahmed still not healthy?
If this ends up being true, I’d assume Perdomo goes back to the minors and Ahmed starts the season as a backup MI until he proves to be completely healthy, at which time they could end up trading Rojas.
Where did you read that? Rojas is a bad SS.
Burn City Sports. I’m not sure how reputable they are but the article came from a link on Rojas’s Baseball Reference page. Anyway, Rojas is not a great 3B either and that explains why they acquired both Rivera and now Longoria, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they stuck him at SS, at least until Ahmed proves to be healthy enough to play full-time. He’s definitely a better hitter than Perdomo.
They’re not playing Rojas at shortstop for any significant number of innings moving forward. He was absolutely dreadful at the position in the few opportunities he got in the past. The organization would turn to Jordan Lawlar before resorting to Rojas at the position.
I’m not a D-Backs fan so I had to look up Jordan Lawlar. He’s made it as far as AA where his line was .212/.299/.353. I believe you when you say Rojas was dreadful at SS, but he still seems like the most realistic option to start the season at SS if Ahmed is not healthy enough.
You were correct when you said that Lawlar only made it as far as AA and didn’t slash particularly well; he was 19 years old, though.
Since you’re unfamiliar with Lawlar, I’ll give some context. He was drafted in ’21 6th overall out of high school (where there was talk of him in range of being taken first overall), but he injured his shoulder 6 PAs into his first professional season and had season ending surgery. In his first full season, he torched A/A+ so badly they had to move him to AA to give him a challenge.
The DBacks aren’t opposed to promoting guys to the 40-man before they’re R5 eligible, and they promote guys aggressively after season ending injuries cause losses of reps (which is exactly what happened with Carroll after his own season ending shoulder surgery).
Lawlar’s obviously starting the season in AA, but he could earn a quick promotion to AAA with a cup of coffee towards season end (being careful to not exhaust Rookie eligibility; again, exactly what they did with Carroll).
Perdomo is the much better option at SS than Rojas; his defensive numbers look worse than they actually were because he was thrown into playing SS full time when Ahmed went down. He settled down as the season went on and was much more smooth. Bat still needs work, he has a great approach and great baserunning though. Rojas is pretty much platooning with Longoria, because his IF defense has been consistently poor (he’d be a full time starter if he could field in the dirt).
Good insight – thank you.
If Lovullo has his way, he’ll play Perdomo there five days a week. The man is blind to offensive as long as they make a few plays above average on defense.
Cool. He’s faded but I’ve always liked watching him play.
Late signing, looks like he couldn’t convince any team to give him more than a one year guarantee.
That’s anything but surprising. If he had retired, that wouldn’t have been surprising, either.
He gets a $5M buyout from the Giants as well, I believe. They declined an option year @ $13M.
Per the article, he limited his choices to three teams.
Wtf. Rays need to rebuild. How do you let him walk away? Neander sucks…
Huh?
ajrodz is living in 2017.
I think ajrod is suggesting that Longoria might be a good cheap veteran presence to teach these youngins for a song and dance in terms of pay. Plus he has a lot of history there. At least that’s the only way I could see it making any sense.
So rebuilding is signing a declining vet? Your name says it all.
This guy all over Tampa the last few days. I thought he was coming back
The fans here we go crazy if Longoria came back to Tampa Barry, always a classy player, he stuck the dagger in the heart of Red Sox fans multiple times
And now Bloom is doing a fine job at that now.
Huh, seems like a low-risk move.
Low-risk in that they might finish with 76 wins instead of 74.
Thought maybe he’d want to play for a playoff team, with no disrespect to the snakes they’re 3rd in the West at best.
If he’s swinging a decent bat come July he may end up getting traded to a contender. At this price he could be an attractive rental pickup.
3rd in the west can still make the playoffs. Dbacks have sneaky good pitching and lots of young talent hoping to break out.
The D’backs have sneaky good pitching? Since when? Who did they sign to improve on that team ERA+ that was 6 points below league average? I love Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly is a decent mid rotation guy, but after those 2, who else do they have?
Such a dbacks move lol I’d much rather just platoon rojas and emmanuel rivera
They got a bat. Now, they can send Texas an outfielder like McCarthy or a prospect outfielder for Winn/White, Foscue, and Duran, etc.
No.
All 4 of those guys I mentioned were or are top 100 prospects. Why not?
Because the DBacks aren’t trying to stockpile prospects; Varsho was dealt so Carroll, McCarthy, and Smith are the LHH OF on the MLB roster to start the season with Thomas soon to come back up and take Smith’s place in the grass. Gurriel Jr. and Lewis are the RHH OF.
Walker only has two more seasons of control and Smith was drafted as a 1B and was only moved to OF out of necessity; 1B is his longterm position.
They don’t currently need a 2B or backup IF, Marte is locked up already and they already have comparable backup IFs in the organization (with Lawlar on his way up quite quickly).
They don’t need more young starting pitching; they have already had Henry, Jameson, and Nelson appear in MLB and Pfaadt, Walston, and Cecconi are coming up soon as well.
They’re really only looking for bullpen arms at this point (and maybe an established SP to take some pressure off of multiple Rookies hopping into the rotation; obviously only at a decent value, since it isn’t an absolute necessity).
There may be a willingness to move Fletcher with more toolsy LHH CFs ahead of him, but he’s significantly less valuable than the other options.
This is why a 3 team trade should happen then. The Dbacks are clearly willing to deal outfielders.
Good photo of the Dbacks.
If you’re talking about something similar to what the Brewers did when they hawked Contreras, then maybe if some team saw Fletcher as worthy enough to fill the gap in cost it could happen. I really don’t see that happening; it is possible, though.
But, Texas wants a guy like Fletcher. They can be the one taking on Fletcher for stuff instead of the 3rd team getting him.
Right all are top 100 prospects for sure!
I didn’t know I was so popular someone would change his username to troll me. Anyways, Astros fan, here is the thing. All of them were or are means they were top 100 on MLB.com or are currently. Look at midseason rankings too. It is obvious reading comprehension is very hard for you. Try to learn how to read first and then respond.
You stole my name
Yawn…
He lives in Arizona and has said he only wanted to play one more season either for Diamondbacks or Tampa.. if he makes it through the season and goes out on his terms that would be great.
I heard that Longoria wanted to go to AZ, if the Giants did not want him back. Plus he also has a home in Scottsdale.
Heard it was either going to be resign with the Giants, if not he would sign with AZ or retire. Also heard that AZ was preferred due he has a residence in Scottsdale.
I think I would rather have Brandon Belt. Both extreme injury risks but I think Belt might have the higher upside if he stays on the field. It’s basically a toss-up, either of them can get injured at the slightest provocation and season’s over.
Make him an offer.
I got Dipoto on Line 2, see what he says. Probably nah because he wants to be the only GM/PBO not to sign a free agent this winter. Actually Mariners could use a veteran presence to replace Haniger/Santana who were our leaders/clubhouse guys last year. We got a young team and someone like Belt would be chill.
Speaking of Brandon Belt, could a Giants fan help me understand how he hit 29 bombs in only 325 AB in 2021 when his previous high was only 18 bombs in 382 AB in 2017 ??? Did he like hit the ‘roid juice or eat his Wheaties or was there a special aerodynamic baseball used during your record 137 Win Season??? Plus he used to be a doubles machine but those more than halved…seems strange/odd/baffling to me , but if finally healthy I would be all over some Brandon Belt right now. (Not in that way)
You answered your own question, when healthy Belt is a top-tier player. WHEN!
Giants should bring him back on a one year deal.
The park was realigned prior to the 2020 season. This helped Belt a lot.
gravel is right. Part of the changes to the park included shutting off the arcade. The wind used to blow through the arches knocking down balls hit to RF. What’s amazing is Oracle is still tough for RHHs to hit HRs. It makes me think Belt could have hit a ton of HRs playing in a park like Yankee Stadium.
I don’t get it but ok
Watch him put it back together and hit .265 w/ 23 HR’s over 130 games with slightly above league average defense and produce 2.2 WAR and then sign another contract and play one more season.
I could see it. Production hasn’t been an issue for Longo the last 2 seasons. It’s been health.
An above average hitter and defender pretty much his entire career. I think this is a great add especially for a young team like the dbacks.
Since SF did not want to resign him, he preferred to play close to where he lives in the off season that is why he signed with AZ.
You’re going to say the same thing 3 or 10 times?
Desert heat got that dawg’s noodle cooked
Didn’t realize how productive of a hitter he still has been.
When healthy, but health has been a problem for him for years. It’s not IF he’ll hit the IL, it’s when and for how long
At the height of his career, Fangraphs said Longo was the best player in MLB. Unfortunately that dominance wasn’t long lived.
as a diehard fbacks fan I love it. Only thing Rivera gets pushed back. However a much needed bat. if healthy he will do great there.love it!
Depth is always welcome, though. Gives Rivera time to work on his pitch selection in MiLB as well. Also, service time gets saved. It’s nice to get another bat that’s above average against both RHP/LHP; it’s not a huge upside improvement, but it lengthens the lineup.
DH/part-time 3B, similar to what they were looking for with Justin Turner. Trade chip if healthy and producing if the D’backs under achieve. Solid pickup
Nice deal for DBacks. Any team could afford this and he’s always been good when he plays. Good depth move.
Nice deal. They need someone to come in and be a clubhouse guy and a guy who went hit can help a team win some games.
Hope AFLAC is included in his deal.
I love Longo, but the Giants already have 3 righty hitting 3rd basemen (JD Davis, Wilmer and Villar) plus the soon coming Casey Schmitt, so resigning him was not gonna happen. I hope he has a great year!
Is anyone else shocked that Brian McCann was Top 3 in WAR for position players between 2008-2013? I can’t believe that is an accurate statistic, but if it is, it truly shows how useless the WAR stat can be when evaluating overall player performance. There are literally over 100 position players I’d rather have on my team than McCann during that 6-year stretch.
Yes, I was also surprised to see Brian McCann amoung those famous players. I remember his name but not who he played for or what position. Was he a catcher or am I mixing him up with the guy the Mets just traded away?!
Yes, he was an overrated Braves left handed catcher who couldn’t hit to save his life.
Don’t watch mlb much? Mac could hit, had the same numbers as posada and Salvador Perez over a ten year stretch, tailed off the last 2 years. Never the 49/130 98sb but he was a productive catcher. Guess you’d rather play James McCann
Jason Varitek
Agree, the McCann we see today is not the same McCann from a few years ago. Catching is so difficult, with so many aspects to what they contribute, that even a guy who’s only a league average hitter is extremely valuable. Had McCann played 1B, with no catching duties, that WAR is nowhere close to what it is.
Dorothy_Mantooth;
Brian McCann was a catcher.
Catchers affect a game more than any other position player or pitcher that goes out once every 5 games. And I’m not talking about the silly pitch framing statistic.
The Orioles took off shortly after Adley came up in 2022. He didn’t exactly hit .300 / .400 / .500. He’s an exceptional catcher – rare at his age. Try watching some Orioles games.
The last two seasons Longoria has put up 124 and 114 OPS+ numbers. Of course, he’s only been healthy enough for about 300PAs each year. But he could still provide some value at DH and occasional 3B. No matter what, a one-year deal won’t break the bank.
I look forward to seeing him play in Reno during one of his rehab assignments.
Cheap contract
if you got the roster space nothing wrong with him – he is still good but the issue is that you never know if he is going to get on the field. good depth piece for that reason but not a guy you want to depend on day in and day out
I’ll miss seeing him suit up for the Giants. Never got to see him in his prime, but there were flashes of brilliance when he was healthy the last two years. Assuming he’ll only play 80 games or so, he’s still got something to offer. I’m sure he’ll get quite a few cheers when he returns to Oracle Park.
This is why WAR has to be taken with a grain of salt. Alleged PED use aside, would you have rather had Longoria or David Ortiz?
deweybelongsinthehall;
All public statistics should be taken with a grain of salt. A person with data and user-friendly software can maneuver them to show anything they want to – short of the player being elite good or gutter terrible.
It’s done on MLBTR to show whatever a person wants to show, he/she being a writer or poster.
I look at WAR – both b and f – to get a ballpark reading of a player over a season or the course of his career. Arguing about a guy with a 2.2 WAR .vs a guy with a 2.9 WAR over one season is silly. Look at the previous seasons and watch out for next year.
Furthermore, a players WAR is dependent on how healthy he was that year; how the coaches are working with him; and the roles the manager is using him in. That’s what professional statisticians are factoring in when they work for teams.
Samuel, thank you. It’s just frustrating to those that actually watch the action when HOF votes, etc. made through keyboard strokes instead of one’s visual sight and brain. I have so many names that having truly watched for 55 or so years are as or more deserving than many recently elected players.
Not bad. 1 year deal to trade at the deadline if the diamond backs arent in the playoff race.
He lives in Scottsdale, spring training will be fun, the summer, not so much
The Giants will finish below .500 this year. Just behind the Dbacks who will finish 82-80. My educated guess.
Doesn’t sound very educated at all actually
Giants have lost ground and the Dbacks have improved. It’s obvious.
The Giants signed Manaea, Mitch Haniger, and Conforto, while the Dibacks have traded Varsho for Moreno, and signed Longo, and you interpret that as the Giants losing ground, and the D’backs improving? Okay.
Yeah, SF lost Rodon, but get DeSclafani back. Considering that the Giants pitching was 4 points over league average by ERA+, and the D’backs were 6 points below, and haven’t added to the rotation, I can’t say I agree.
The DBacks biggest offensive issue last season was against LHP, and they’ve added Kyle Lewis, Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and now Evan Longoria this offseason (all RHH, with platoon complements for Lewis/Longoria to keep from overworking them); they’re joining Kelly, Walker, Marte, and Ahmed (all of which are above average bats against LHP), and McCarthy (who didn’t have platoon splits at all really last season). That’s a much improved lineup, and gives them a ton of leeway to ease Carroll into LHP PAs without offensive blackholes (he’s only had 167 LHP PAs in his professional career, so can’t expect too much there right away).
For the RHP lineup we have Kelly/Moreno (either/or), Walker, Marte, Gurriel Jr. (at DH), and McCarthy as the everyday players; then there’s Carroll, Perdomo, Rojas, and Smith/Thomas (either/or). Carroll, McCarthy, and Thomas are ranging from really fast to outrageously fast, and them along with Rojas and Perdomo are all aggressive baserunners. Remember that bases are going to be larger this season and pickoffs limited. And they added a couple of contact bats (Moreno/Gurriel Jr.) to hit behind all of that speed; so there’s a ton of opportunity for extra bases on balls in play. The RHP lineup is also the much superior fielding configuration.
They haven’t added to the rotation because Jameson and Kelly both debuted last season and already project to be league average, and they also have Pfaadt (a top 25 prospect in MiLB that obliterated the PCL in a hyper offensive year, only two years into his professional career). Henry also has a league average projection. It would be nice to have a more sure thing, but the guys in house already look pretty good.
Who knows how the bullpen will turn out? All I can say is that if they’re closer to 15th in the league after 3 MLB bullpen additions and a CP prospect in AAA (as opposed to bottom of MLB last season), they’ll definitely be over .500. How far over .500 depends entirely on how the younger players settle in this season.
I think pitching is key. I love Kelly, but he isn’t really much of an improvement over last season’s D’backs since he made 33 starts for them in 2022.
Be careful of putting a lot of hope in prospects to be promoted. Jameson only has a 45 FV, and even very good prospects, that become solid pitchers, usually don’t come close to being effective right away.
Pitching is a learned skill. Logan Webb’s expertise took a few years. The Giants also have a highly ranked prospect in Kyle Harrison, who has a FV of 50, and I don’t expect he’ll be much of a factor for a couple years.
If I were a D’backs fan, I’d be more excited about Pfaadt, than Jameson. He has a FV of 45+. Or Blake Wilson, also with a FV of 45+, but he’s still a ways away. Until the D’backs actually improve the rotation, I will be very surprised if they finish above the Giants in the division.
What publication are you going off of for Jameson being a 45+? Because I just checked both MLB Pipeline and The Board on FG, and he’s 50 FV on both and that’s assuming 45 Command (and those aren’t the updated ’23 lists). He had a well below average BB% in AA, an average BB% in AAA, and a below average BB% in MLB. That’s better than 45 FV Command, and his ’23 grade is going to reflect that.
Nelson is a 45+ FV by FG assuming 45 FV Command as well, but a 50 FV by Pipeline with 55 FV Command (so they kind of sort of agree but not really, FG sees his stuff as better but worse command). His BB% in AAA was slightly below the average line, and was slightly above average in MLB. Remember, these were their first cracks at MLB and they each only pitched against divisional opponents in the postseason running (and the Giants). Pitching is a learned skill, right? Pitchers generally improve from their debuts, especially with one of the better pitching coaches in the game.
I am certainly most excited about Pfaadt, his ZiPS projected BB% for his first MLB season is a little over 5% with an above average K% (being only his third full professional season. That’s just outlandish and I want to see it happen; this dude has #2 upside easy.
Henry only needs to be a #4/5 and his ZiPS projections already align with that.
It’s Blake Walston by the way, and nobody expects him to hit MLB until the end of this season at the absolute earliest and that’s still unlikely; Cecconi likely comes up first. Those guys are on the closest timeline to Kyle Harrison. Jameson, Nelson, Henry, and Pfaadt have already reached AAA and had varying degrees of success (Pfaadt bring the only one that hasn’t reached MLB among those four, yet he’s projected to be the best of them as early as this season). Remember, projections are conservative estimates. They only know the numbers.
I agree with you that pitching is most important, but you need a good defense behind them. Walker was far and away the best defensive 1B in MLB, all three of the youngest LHH OF have great range in the OF, both of the C have at least decent arms (Moreno’s is well beyond decent), and Ahmed/Perdomo are more than serviceable at SS. 2B/3B likely won’t be even good defensively (until Rivera gets the call back up), but Walker can bail out the bad IF throws and compensate for some of Marte’s lack of range.
The DBacks are already projected around .500, but I’m also not discounting the upside of guys like Carroll, Moreno, Perdomo, Jameson, Nelson, and Pfaadt. Plus, the RHP offense is tailor-made to take advantage of the new changes. That’s what I mean when I say that how far this season goes depends entirely on the young guns settling in. Them settling in and getting MLB experience is the point of this season, though.
I got Jameson’s FV from Fangraphs. Admittedly it’s from AZ’s 2022 top prospects ranking, because 2023 isn’t available yet.
blogs.fangraphs.com/arizona-diamondbacks-top-46-pr…
We can agree to disagree. I think your expectations are too high for the prospects, especially the pitchers. Even the prospects that do become league average or better don’t do so without struggling early on in their careers. Expecting a rookie pitcher to post an ERA+ above 100 is asking a lot.
I’d guess you’re wrong. Until the D’backs get more than 2 SPs that are above average, the Giants, with a much better staff, will probably finish ahead of them.
tad2b13
Here’s where you are wrong. You assume, like this website does, that the ONLY way to improve a team, in this case pitching, is by spending big bucks on Free Agents. That’s what makes this website so popular, big headlines, big dollars via Free Agency. You’ve bought and are drinking the coolade.
The Dbacks are going to be better in 2023 because 3 rookie OF and 3 rookie SP now have a season or partial season of experience. And the best SP in the minors last year will debut sometime around the All-Star break.
The Dbacks are going to be better because they identified their two remaining glaring weaknesses and are correcting both. They are already light years stronger against lefthanded pitching and they are working on the bullpen issue.
Will they be better in 2023 than they were in 2022? Absolutely! How much better is the big question.
Meanwhile, the Giants debacle with Correa has them in chaos.
Wow, I didn’t realize you knew before hand exactly what’s going to happen. And not only that you know what I’m thinking. You must be very wealthy, because you would know how the stock market will do, as well as you’ll know which are the winning lottery numbers.
First off, you’re wrong about what I think. that signing FAs is the only way to improve a team. I am a big critic of A.J. Preller for how he trades prospects and tries to sign every big FA.
I have been watching baseball for decades (more than I like to think about), and one constant I see year after year is fans expecting good performances from newly promoted prospects. I remember a Yankee fan telling me I knew nothing about baseball because I questioned how much to expect from Phil Hughes. He said Hughes was going to be an ace.
What I know is, no team wins on homegrown players alone. It always takes a combination of homegrown players and FAs. Always. Just look at the roster from the last WS winning D’backs team. The Astros, due to their long tenure of last place finishes, and #1 overall draft choices, who have a high percentage of homegrown players still needed FAs like Verlander, Brantly, Odorixzzi, Pressly, Montero, and Maldonado. Even Gurriel was an international FA.
I also have seen over the years that prospects generally disappoint. In fact the vast majority on top 100 prospects won’t even be league average. Partial season experience has some value, but you seem to forget young guys will have to adjust. The only players that go on to have decent careers are the ones that can adjust. No one knows if they will.
I would caution you, that if you’re counting on 3 rookie OFs, and 3 rookie SPs to all contribute to moving the D’backs up in the standings, be prepared to be disappointed.
tad2b13
Sorry if I ruffled your feathers. You make good sense when speaking generally about building a team via the combination of homegrown talent, trading prospects for veterans and Free Agent pickups. But speaking generally about the Dbacks doesn’t recognize their specific position.
The Dbacks just promoted a huge crop of talented and highly regarded homegrown talent in 2022, with more expected in 2023. The team is going to be better in 2023, but nobody is dillusionable about them being a great team, or even so good they are one player away from competing for a deep run into the playoffs. So, specific to the Dbacks, your comment about needing to go externally for 2 SP is premature for the Dbacks. It’s premature both because they aren’t “one player away” yet, and also premature in the sense that, as you said, young pitchers need time to develop, so the 3 young pitchers promoted in 2022 need to start in 2023. It doesn’t make sense to sign veterans to block them from getting those crucial development opportunities. In fact, most Dbacks fans want Madison Bumgarner gone now because he’s taking valuable innings away from these young guys.
So, yes at the right time the Dbacks should go for that one Free Agent player who will put them over the top alongside their homegrown talent.. they are just a year away from that point, and the Dbacks need to go through growing pains in 2023 to sort out who will actually grow from hot prospect to productive major leaguer.
The roster of the last DBacks WS team is a poor comparison; Colangelo went out and accrued a mountain of debt to sign veterans in only the franchise’s fourth year of existence; that’s not enough time to develop internal talent. Yes, you absolutely need to sign FAs to push a roster over the top, but it’s silly to commit large sums of money or deal high end prospects until you’re certain of where the holes are on the roster.
On note of free agency, the biggest reason to run with what is in house already is to to take gambles on filling roster holes well for pennies on the dollar (and why not, the majority of these guys are top 100s with strong defense; i.e. high floor).
The only DBacks FAs after this season are Ahmed, Gurriel, Longoria, and Melancon. Those four leaving along with Bumgarner’s salary dropping frees up $35MM in payroll and further improvements in the standings will encourage Ken Kendrick to open his pocketbook a bit more. We all know who’s a FA next season, and the only way the DBacks can sustain a contract that large is if they have multiple pre-arb producers. Any team that’s not attempting to bid on Ohtani is idiotic or miserly (let’s be real, DBacks are the latter).
Prospects do generally disappoint, but in McCarthy, Carroll, Moreno, Jameson, and Nelson we’re talking about guys that have already seen some success at the MLB level; no reason not to see how successful they can be.
scottaz, It’s good to be excited about your rookies/prospects, and admittedly AZ has some guys in the OF that I love.. I’m excited about a couple of Giants prospects as well. But I do know the percentage of top 100 prospects that become even league average is shockingly low. I’ve watched baseball long enough to know that, until a guy produces for more than one season, the jury is still out.
highheat, Not sure the last WS winning D’backs team is a poor comparison. The point was they won it all with a bunch of FAs. And no team has ever won a title without signing any. My point was you need FAs to win it all. I was not at all suggesting that AZ go out and sign a bunch of high-priced FAs. I think Hazen is doing things right BTW, and expect him to spend when the time is right.
I made my comments in the context of AZ finishing above SF, because supposedly they’ve improved and the Giants haven’t. When that improvement depends on prospects and rookies with little help from FAs, I don’t see it. That doesn’t mean I think the D’backs should have spent big on FAs. I do worry about how good they will be in a couple years, when they should spend. But for now, I don’t see them passing the Giants.
It was a poor comparison, though; that was your point, my point was that the franchise existed for such a short period that development of quality internal candidates wasn’t even an option at that point. The ONLY option they had to win in that situation was to spend a ton on FAs. And all that spending left the DBacks with debt that impacted the payroll figures for a decade. We’re not trying to do that again; this is an organization that is only going into its 25th year, so we can’t operate under the same parameters as organizations that have generational fanbases.
You originally started out by questioning where the DBacks made improvements at all, we explained where there were internal improvements coming. And we’re talking about guys coming up that the entirety of MLB views highly. These aren’t just guys that we’re hyping up because they’re the best of a shallow system.
You brought up not expecting a 50FV Kyle Harrison to be contributing for a couple (that’s two) more seasons. You ignored that Henry, Jameson, Nelson, and Pfaadt are a year ahead of him already as far as timelines go. 2-1=1, so one more year for expected contributions from those 4 guys? What a coincidence, this is a season to get them settled in.
I never disagreed with your assertion that spending money on FAs is necessary; I wholeheartedly agree. I did point out that Henry, Jameson, Nelson, and Pfaadt were already comparable options to the majority of remaining FAs (and have higher upside). We’re just saying that the better option is to leave the 2 rotation spots open and let those 4 duke it out for playing time.
No offense, but you’re overstating the Giants’s improvements while simultaneously understating the DBacks improvements. The Giants had a 104 ERA+, but how much of that was Rodón’s 140 ERA+ in 178 IP (i.e. almost 20 full games worth)? The Giants defense doesn’t look particularly enthralling and comparatively they’ve got more basecloggers than burners. The Giants bullpen wass absolutely better than the DBacks, but Hazen just did about the closest you could do to a full bullpen makeover; so it’s still up in the air how they stack up against one another.
I’m sure you’re a very knowledgeable baseball fan; there’s no way not to be with that many years of watching. I appreciate the discussion; that being said, I can almost guarantee that the average DBacks fan is more knowledgeable about the Giants than even you are about the DBacks (and not to toot my own horn, but I like to think that Scott and myself are more knowledgeable than most DBacks fans). It’s just the nature of things; it’s a lot easier to find articles covering the Giants than it is covering the DBacks.
If the Giants had actually signed Correa, I would have agreed that the Giants would finish higher than the DBacks (although, the DBacks would still be over .500). After the Varsho deal and no Correa, I’m pretty confident that the DBacks finish 3rd in the NL West. We can absolutely agree to disagree, thanks for being mostly civil (appreciated the sarcasm too; I quite enjoy being sarcastic myself lol).
Also, I’d recommend checking The Board instead of the actual lists; they update it mid-season. You can get there by clicking the dropdown menu on FanGraphs then clicking on the Prospects tab to get to The Board.
highheat, I think you believe that the 2021 Giants were some vast mirage, and 2022 was their true character. The core of this team still won 107 games. Sure, a lot broke right in 2021, not everything but most. In 2022 a lot broke wrong. I think they’re somewhere in between. With a better bullpen they approach 88-90 wins. I see AZ as being a way off from 88-90 wins.
The other thing is I think you overestimate how much Rodon could affect that 104 ERA+. Rodon pitched less than 12.5% of the total innings. Sure, he added 2-3 points, but the rest of the team was still above league average. Plus their team ERA was bloated by a bad bullpen. Comparing tOPS+ the starters allowed a 91, while the relievers allowed a 110..The pen allowed .4 more runs per game than the SPs. Their WHIP was more almost 1.75 higher, and their SO/W ratio was more than 1.5 less
Also, they’re getting DeSclafani back from injury, He had a 130 ERA+ in 2021. With him Stripling, and Manaea, they have much better depth than in 2022. Neither Wood, nor Junis need to start unless there’s an injury Taylor Rogers will help improve the pen
The D’backs need to make huge strides to improve their team ERA+ another 7 points.
This is exactly what I’m pointing out when I say you’re overstating the Giants and understating the DBacks; so the Giants bullpen struggles are considered but the DBacks adding 3-4 more arms to one of the league’s worst bullpens (and shedding the biggest bullpen offenders) is completely disregarded?
Rodón was 1 pitcher on a 13 man staff, 12.5% is not 1/13th of 100%. That’s not an insignificant portion of innings. And expecting DeSclafani to be a big contributor after pitching less than 25 IP last season is pretty pie in the sky.
Hate to break it to you, but the Giants are not closer to the ’21 season. Expecting Crawford to have another career season at 36 is pretty outlandish. It’s not just that a lot of things went right in ’21 for the Giants; almost everything went right in ’21 for the Giants.
I will try to keep this civil, though I’m not sure you’re trying that hard.
I probably wasn’t clear about what I was trying to say re SPs and relievers. So let me try to explain better. I am focused mostly on the rotations. Last season the Giants got good performances from, not just Rodon, but the rotation in general. Their relievers did not perform well. In AZ’s case neither performed better than league average.
So while AZ did a great job addressing the relief pitching, SF also improved theirs, So I think it’s mostly about the SPs. And, I’m not sure how much, counting on young pitching and prospects, can elevate the performance of the rotation as a whole.. And you may disagree, but despite losing Rodon, signing Stripling, Manaea, and getting DeSclafani back makes their rotation improved from 2022. It certainly has more depth.
DeSclafani had a 130 ERA+ in 2021. In 2022 he injured his ankle, tried to pitch through it, couldn’t, and had surgery on it early in the season. It’s not pie-in-the-sky to think, with the significant recovery time, that he can’t come back at something above league average. What might be pie-in-the-sky, is depending on young pitchers. Disco is one year removed from effective pitching. Bumgarner is 3 years removed from that.
I could be wrong, and often I am. After all we’re trying to predict the future. But seeing how things have gone in the past, you can usually expect some disappointment in the performance of young pitchers, and there will also be injuries. The depth of the Giants staff, without relying on the hope of prospects, is why I think the Giants will finish above the D’backs.
Lastly, saying “Expecting Crawford to have another career season at 36 is pretty outlandish.” is a strawman argument. I never once mentioned Crawford nor said I expect anything of the sort.
Arizona Teams love signing players who are past their prime.
Dbacks needed a right handed hitting 3b, with some power who could hit lefties. Last year, teams threw left handed starters and relievers against the Dbacks with great success. It was partly to avoid the 4 stud left handed hitting OF, but also quickly discovered that the right handed hitting bats the Dbacks put on the field were all automatic outs. I know there are Dbacks fans here who will defend Rivera and Kelly, but they were part of the problem last year.
Since Longoria hits well against lefties (.381 BatAvg.) they only need him to short side platoon at 3b and DH late in games, I think this is an excellent signing, and I think he’ll have a great and healthy year.
There was a time when I thought of Longo as a potential future Hall of Famer. Funny looking back now just how far away he is.
Having over 300 HR’s, he’s really not that far away
Plenty of players fit that bill. Longo was one as soon as he signed that deal and barely had his MLB cleats on. I’d argue that Grady Sizemore was an even greater talent than Longo but never stayed healthy. Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Eric Chavez, Justin Morneau… just to rattle off a few.
YankeesBleacherCreature, I don’t think Fangraphs ever said Grady Sizemore was the best player in MLB like they did Longoria. And not sure pitchers and position players make a good comparison. Morneau, was a better hitter, but as a 1B had limited value. I do agree that Chavez was better.
Only noting guys that were on the trajectory shortly after debuting and had their careers hampered by injury.
I take your point, but while Sizemore, at his peak, had a run of 5 very good seasons of 126 OPS+, Longoria had 6 seasons of HoF quality seasons of 136 OPS+.. Had Sizemore added another 5 seasons at that level, he doesn’t get inducted. If Longoria adds 4 seasons at that level, being HoF worthy or not is at least debatable.
Man Grady Sizemore….that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.
His 2006 season followed up by Grandersons 2007 might have been some of the best all around baseball I’ve ever seen. Doubles, triples, HR’s, SB’s my oh my.
He was on a HoF trajectory for 6 years, so seeing him as a possible inductee was not off-base. Unfortunately for him 6 years doesn’t get anyone into the HoF.
dBacks enjoy going cheap. Case closed.
He wants that AZ weather
As a dbacjs fan I love this
It’s a solid move to bring in a veteran to help lead the younger players. I like it.
Bummer!
I was really wishing for a Rays reunion, alas, wasn’t meant to be.
Evan Longoria is/was a very solid player, wishing him the best.
Good guy….good pickup
It’s amazing that he’s been around long enough for the Rays to give him TWO lengthy contracts… and still ticking! Good luck in phoenix!
Success!
If healthy, I could see Longoria being an above-average hitter who should get 100 starts between 3B and DH (~400-500 PA). Big issue will be coming back from the fractured thumb he suffered the final week of the season combined with a lower contact rate on pitches in the strike zone. It’s a very low risk deal for both sides.
If the 37 year old Longo is a bridge to the Snakes next big time 3B prospect, consider …
– Deyvison De Los Santos, age 19, in AA
– A.J. Vukovich, age 21, also in AA
Might be a bridge too far…
The bridge(s) to the next good 3B prospect are Rojas/Rivera; Longoria just creates depth for the season.
The young Snakes will benefit from Longo’s locker room presence. Good pickup!
Good signing. Longoria’s a good player. I was kinda hoping my Giants would keep him around another year.
Glad Giants are finally out from under his contract. If the D-Bags are able to get replacement value out of him for another year, good for them. I don’t think he’ll suddenly find the fountain of youth at age 37, but they probably don’t either. He should be good for helping them to jockey for 3rd or 4th place in the NL West, much like he has for SF for the last couple of years.
I mean, you’re talking about a salary that is so low – especially this offseason with all the money flying around. This is a mere bag of shells.
In 2008 when Evan Longoria broke thru into The Show, Eva Longoria was all the rage …
Evan, Eva, Eva, Evan … was I the only one to notice this?
I mean, c mon, we’re only talking one letter!
Oh yeah I know exactly what you’re referring to Pants. haha. I see to say the same thing. Eva Longoria was pretty hot back in the day. Evan…well let’s just say I wouldn’t notice ha.
I remember all of the hype he had after his rookie season. He was supposed to be the next great player. He had some good years but never lived up to expectations.
I’m also surprised he hasn’t made an all star team in the last 12 seasons.
I like this signing for the DBacks. Veteran presence for a young team. He is a threat against left handed pitchers and, above all this, at Chase Field, his career batting average is over .300 and his career OPS is over 1.000.(his highest in any stadium he has ever played).
Evan SoLongoria……Retire already.
Why? He’s still a productive player. Yankees are going to have starters who aren’t even as productive as him.
Why should he.? He will get paid 10 times more in one year then you will make in your entire lifetime
and I make enough money to pay taxes to keep your welfare checks coming but keep scratching those lottery tickets, you may be a winner someday in your life.
This is the internet so we all believe you make good money.and you are most likely good looking and date super models.
Best of luck Evan!
Career
WAR
0.6
58.1
AB
266
7095
H
65
1883
HR
14
331
BA
.244
.
cna he hit 400 HRs. he s 37. is he hall worthy?
He could hit 400 HRs if he continues to hit really well, and (big if) he stays healthy for 3 more years. But even if that happened he’s still not going into the HoF.
Since I see thing through the lens of Yankee fanhood, I have to wonder if Cashman is trying to swing a deal for one of the snakes’ newly minted third basemen to replace Donaldson. Probably not, I suppose. AZ might just want a veteran in the clubhouse to help bring the new guys along.
Might be the Jays year to overtake the division at this point. They are a year more experienced and made some nice moves bringing in Bassitt, Varsho and KK. Not to mention Merrifield looked like the trade sparked him back to his old form last year.
And Cashman has basically twiddled his thumbs all off-season. Unless he’s banking on Judge hitting 60+ HR’s again and having one of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball once again I don’t understand how this offense will scare anyone.
Well, you have to credit Cash & Hal for bringing back Rizzo and acquiring Rodon, too, the latter being the biggest improvement, potentially (i.e., depending on his continued health).
But Donaldson is a hole in the lineup, his defensive prowess notwithstanding, and DJ is a question mark. I don’t mind letting the prospects like Peraza, Volpe and Cabrero play. If they let Cabrera man left field, I’m okay with that — but not Hicks, who should only be a backup outfielder if they don’t unload him. But unless one of the young guys can man third base, they need to add a third baseman, IMO. I don’t think they will though. I think they’re banking on 37-year-old Donaldson to somehow recover bat speed. Good luck with that.
They’re not likely to add much more payroll because they’re determined to stay below the second luxury tax threshold.
Mr. Ployed: I find it highly distasteful that Cashman might consider starting the year off with Cabrera in LF and Donaldson back at 3B. In fact, so distasteful he won’t be able to stomach it himself. And I think it’s best to assume DJ ain’t gonna be ready to help wash anything down. So then what? …eat Donaldson’s contract like the Reds are doing with Moustakas. Steadfast and True Kiner-Falefa can revert to 3B where he smiled more as a Texas Ranger. Acquire/procure Kepler or Profar then install in Left. Cabrera to the bench. All your problems solved (until the next domino falls.) Happy New Year buddy !!!
I don’t believe Donaldson is going anywhere simply because his decline last year, coupled with his salary, makes him untradeable. He’s owed almost $22MM in 2023, and then there’s the $8MM buyout for 2024. So $30MM. There’s no deal to be constructed at that price. Toss in $15MM? He’s still a $15MM expense. No team will pay that for a good defensive 3B’man whose bat seemed to age out overnight last season. $20MM? He’s still owed $10MM, and the Yankees wouldn’t even get a break on their luxury tax calculation since the $20MM would be applied to his 2023 salary. They could attach a prospect, but it would take a Peraza-level prospect to get a team to eat the Donaldson contract. Not happening.
So what are the Yankees going to do? They’re not going to cut Donaldson in the offseason, nor should they. Baseball wise, Donaldson is a smart player and studies hitting. He’s a hard worker by all reports. Along with JD Martinez, he was one of the first players to revamp his swing to take advantage of the launch angle shift. The Yankees will hope he had a hidden injury (not impossible) and/or that he reviews his ABs this offseason and makes new adjustments. I’m not sure it’ll matter because he was not hitting velocity as the season progressed, so he started to cheat on his swing, which made him vulnerable to breaking pitches off the plate. That’s likely all age related. He did seem to get progressively worse as the season went along, which could be a sign he was masking an injury, or it could be a sign pitchers grew more comfortable challenging Donaldson once they realized his skills had eroded.
My guess is the Yankees will give him a chance to start the season at 3B, while assessing if he has anything left, while also ensuring LeMahieu is recovered from his foot problem and healthy. If Donaldson is still struggling, then LeMahieu will take over at 3B and Donaldson will either be released, or sent to the bench.
He’s not going anywhere for now, so I’m no longer worried about what they’re going to do with him. I know what they’re going to do with him.
Probably hoping to be traded to a contender.
Wow
The O should pick up playing his home games in Arizona instead of SF. If he isn’t hurt or traded, and lasts the whole year, I could see him with .265 15 50 in about 400 PAs. Snakes could have done worse.
Not a bad pickup. Won’t move the needle. I’m surprised how many folks are excited by this. Damn it’s a slow week
Never really thought about what was so special about this guy. He’s easily worth 4 million but even at the height of his career, I found him to be overrated.
I take that back looking at his stats. He had some very stellar years.
Just another example of an old person living out his remaining years in Arizona
They are back!!!
I know he won’t move the needle much anymore, but I was hoping Detroit would sign him. I’m wondering what they’ll do for 3B?
Longo has a higher lifetime WAR than every pre Eddie Mathews Hall of Fame 3rd baseman except for Home Run Baker.
The problem for his Hall of Fame chances, there are a few post Eddie Mathews 3rd basemen with a higher WAR that aren’t in the Hall of Fame like Scott Rolen and Buddy Bell.
Longo will likely need a late career resurgance to make it and I’m pretty sure he’s aware of that. Arizona is probably the best place to do that although I would have loved to see him go back to Tampa Bay.